Gatti remembered as a fighter with a big heart

By AMY LUFT, Associated Press Writer

MONTREAL (AP)—Arturo Gatti was remembered as a big-hearted, star fighter at his funeral Monday, drawing a standing ovation from mourners when his mother received a championship belt from the World Boxing Council.

More than 1,000 mourners packed Notre Dame de la Defense church in the heart of Montreal’s Italian community to pay respects to the 37-year-old boxer who was found dead July 11 at a Brazilian resort.

“He had the same personality when he was boxing the ring, and in his life he gave it his all,” said Canadian boxing promoter and former national boxing coach Yvon Michel, who has known Gatti for 30 years.

Gatti’s wife, Amanda Rodrigues, is being held as the prime suspect. She has been accused, but not charged, of strangling her husband with a purse strap as he slept.

A coroner’s report last weekend in Brazil indicates Gatti died of asphyxiation after his body was “suspended and hanged,” opening the possibility he may have committed suicide, authorities said.

“Nobody believes whatsoever that there’s even a one percent chance of a suicide. He lived life to the fullest,” said Ivano Scarpa, a close family friend who spoke during the funeral service.

Gatti lived in Montreal with his wife and family. Scarpa said family and friends are suspicious of Rodrigues, adding the couple had a tumultuous relationship.

Gatti retired in 2007 with a 40-9 record and two world titles in his 16-year professional career.

“We never knew he would be such a great fighter. I was always happy to see his success, to see him walk in the gym a boy and become a great man,” said a letter from former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. The letter was sent to Gatti’s family and read by family friend Mario Costa.

When his mother, Ida Gatti, received the posthumous championship belt in the fighter’s honor, mourners stood and applauded.

“I don’t think we’ll see another fighter like this,” boxing trainer Howard Grant said. “You have to go back to the old days and guys like Rocky Graziano or Jake La Motta.”

Gatti’s wife remains in jail, police backtracking

By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—Arturo Gatti’s wife will remain in jail pending a judicial decision despite the release of an autopsy report casting doubt on whether the former champion boxer was killed.

Police, meanwhile, are backing off strong statements that Gatti’s wife was unquestionably responsible for his death. Earlier they said she undoubtedly strangled him with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept.

The lawyer for Amanda Rodrigues—whom police have said is the only suspect in the fighter’s July 11 death—petitioned for her release through two legal channels.

Pernambuco state judge Fausto Campos on Monday denied the request that she be released because she was cooperating with police. He ruled, though, that her writ of habeas corpus must be examined by a three-judge panel, leaving open the possibility she will be freed. The panel meets each Tuesday, but the court did not say when Rodrigues’ request would be heard.

The judge’s decision came on the same day about 1,000 people turned out for Gatti’s funeral in his adopted hometown of Montreal.

Gatti was found dead in the apartment he was renting with Rodrigues in the seaside resort of Porto de Galinhas in Brazil’s northeast. The pair, who had a tumultuous marriage, had arrived there a few days before Gatti’s death for a second honeymoon. The couple brought their 10-month-old son, who was unhurt and is in the care of Rodrigues’ family in Brazil.

On Saturday, authorities released an initial autopsy report that said Gatti could have died in an unexplained accident, been murdered, or committed suicide. The report indicated Gatti died of asphyxiation after his body was “suspended and hanged.”

Police said from the beginning they think Rodrigues strangled Gatti as he slept—and they have said they think the crime scene was altered before Rodrigues reported Gatti’s death. Her attorney, however, said the fact Gatti’s body was found suspended proved his client’s innocence.

“The report was telling the truth,” Rodrigues’ attorney, Celio Avelino, told The Associated Press. “The report said he was hanged. She could never suspend and hang a man that size.”

But a Gatti family friend rejected out of hand the chance the fighter committed suicide.

“Nobody believes whatsoever that there’s even a one percent chance of a suicide. He lived life to the fullest,” said Ivano Scarpa, a close family friend who spoke during the funeral service in Canada.

Rodrigues, in a handwritten note given to the AP last week, proclaimed her innocence and said it would be proved within days.

Police inspector Paulo Alberes said he could no longer comment on the case until the investigation was complete—an abrupt reversal from many detailed statements investigators have given about Gatti’s death.

“I cannot confirm that she is a suspect,” Alberes said. “I can tell you that she is still imprisoned as of right now. That is it.”

The investigator said police hope to have their final report prepared by next week. The initial investigation report was legally required to be handed over to prosecutors by Wednesday, but police received an extension on that deadline.

Associated Press Writer Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Northern NJ locals fondly recall Arturo Gatti

By VICTOR EPSTEIN, Associated Press Writer

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP)—Boxing trainer Mike Skowronski honed his skills beside Arturo Gatti at Jersey City’s Ringside Gym and said the former champ’s longtime friends never liked Gatti’s wife—who is suspected of strangling him.

Skowronski, Gatti’s one-time stablemate, sparring mate and cornerman, said Amanda Rodrigues met the boxing legend while working as a stripper in northern New Jersey and quickly became his business adviser and then his wife. Friends in the working-class area of Jersey City where Gatti paid his dues in the ring were suspicious of her motives but didn’t want to offend him by pushing the matter.

“She tried to take over—she pushed him away from everybody,” Skowronski said Tuesday. “I chose not to be around it, if you can imagine that, after being friends for 20 years. A lot of his friends did the same.”

Rodrigues, a native of Brazil, is accused of strangling Gatti with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept. Rodrigues told investigators she awoke Saturday to find her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in Brazil. But police said she was the only suspect.

“Arturo had a big heart and she took advantage of that,” said Joe Gatti, 42. “There was nobody around down there that he could trust.”

Ringside Gym is located along the rough-and-tumble Route 1 & 9 truck route that snakes across northern New Jersey from the Holland and Lincoln tunnels out of New York City. Gatti was a wiry 17-year-old when he joined his older brother Joe there in 1989.

Joe Gatti, who still lives in northern New Jersey, said the family is struggling to come to terms with his death and to handle the funeral and memorial arrangements. Gatti’s body is scheduled to be released Tuesday in Brazil.

The family had hoped to hold a service in New Jersey, but Gatti never obtained his U.S. citizenship, so they’re leaning toward an event in Montreal this weekend.

“He’s my baby brother,” Joe Gatti said by phone from his home in Wyckoff. “I got him here, I raised him and he became a champion.”

The Gattis lived on one side of Route 1 & 9 in boxing guru Mario Costa’s single-family home and ate breakfast each morning in his White Mana diner. They trained on the other side of the truck route in his second-floor boxing gym, eating dinner in the Ringside Lounge below. The blue-collar area, which is known for its truck repair yards, sometimes attracts prostitutes at night.

Regulars recalled Gatti on Tuesday as a great kid who never forgot the neighborhood.

“Everybody was his friend here,” said Nunzi D’elia, 73. “He basically grew up here. We’re taking it real hard.”

Bartender Manuel Montiro said, “He wasn’t fancy. It hurts, especially the way he died.”

Gatti considered the area home and returned often even after becoming a world champion. The bar is festooned with his fight posters and trophies.

Costa cherished the champ’s final amateur boxing trophy Tuesday, laughing about the time he found a bruised and battered Gatti eating cheeseburgers and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches at White Mana the morning after a big fight in Atlantic City. Gatti had starved himself to make weight for the bout and said he’d been dreaming of the diner for days.

“What hurts is that he was by himself when he died, with nobody to protect him, because he was loved by so many people around here,” Costa said Tuesday.

Everyone has a Gatti story at Ringside. Costa likes to remember the starry-eyed teen who followed him around when he visited Montreal, begging for a chance.

Ricky Roman, 32, remembers sneaking away to neighborhood basketball courts with Gatti so the tough Canadian could break out the boxing gloves and give the local kids a shot. Gatti was small, but powerful. He also had “heavy hands,” boxing lingo for knockout power.

Skowronski, 38, of Passaic, remembered Gatti as a prankster with a penchant for pulling down the shorts of other boxers. He also recalled how hurt the teenage Gatti was by his father’s death in 1987. It was a source of strength for a boxer renowned for his courage, who was always trying to measure up to his old man’s exacting standards.

Skowronski said he would play soccer with Gatti when they were teenagers, even though he hated the sport, which is a big deal in the champ’s native Italy and childhood home of Quebec.

“I loved him,” Skowronski said. “I’d stand in the net and play goalie.”

Gatti death: Lawyer asks for release of wife

By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—The Brazilian wife of Arturo Gatti asked to be released from jail, where she is held on accusations she strangled the former boxing champion with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept.

Her lawyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday he petitioned a court to release Amanda Rodrigues while the investigation continues. Celio Avelino expects the court in Recife to rule on Wednesday at the earliest.

Rodrigues told investigators she awoke Saturday about 6 a.m. to find her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in Porto de Galinhas, a seaside resort in Pernambuco state. She then called police, which Avelino said indicates her willingness to help authorities.

But police said she was the only suspect and they are certain she killed Gatti in their apartment where they and their 10-month-old son arrived for a second honeymoon last week. The boy was unhurt and was in the care of Rodrigues’ family.

Police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva told the AP the death may have even been premeditated and Rodrigues may have encouraged Gatti to drink excessively so she would be able to overpower him later.

“He was very drunk and that made it easier for her,” Saraiva said. “He was sleeping when she did this. She waited for the moment when he was drunk enough for her to do it.”

She also said Gatti’s body was released to his brother and it was her understanding the body would be flown to Canada on Wednesday.

Rodrigues told police she had a fight with Gatti after dinner on Friday and he pushed her to the ground, resulting in minor injuries to her elbow and chin. Witnesses also reported to police the couple fought and Gatti was drunk.

Police said Gatti had marks on his throat, indicating he was strangled, and a knife wound to the back of his head. They displayed a bloodied, white purse strap that was found near Gatti’s body, along with a small steak knife.

Saraiva said she could not confirm if Gatti was first strangled and then cut with the knife, or the opposite.

Chuck Zito, an actor and close personal friend of Gatti, said he spoke with Gatti a few weeks ago, and the boxer told him the couple was “probably going to get a divorce.”

Zito and Gatti met 13 years ago, when Zito was with Pamela Anderson and Raquel Welch at an Oscar De La Hoya fight. Gatti wanted to meet Welch, and the two men struck up a close relationship. Zito ended up accompanying Gatti to the ring for several of his most notable fights.

Zito said Gatti met his wife at the strip club Scores in New York and that Gatti’s friends tried to talk him out of marrying her.

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in New York contributed to this report.

Police eye wife in Gatti’s death, rule out nothing

By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—Police investigating the death of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti are working on the assumption his wife strangled him with her purse strap while he drunkenly slept. The woman’s lawyer, however, insists she is innocent and was too “fragile” to kill a boxer.

Lead investigator Moises Teixeira told The Associated Press on Monday nothing is being ruled out but he is certain the woman acted by herself.

“It was technically impossible for a third person to have been in the flat,” where Gatti was found dead early Saturday, Teixeira said. “The investigation isn’t finished, but we continue to think she did this alone.”

Gatti’s 23-year-old Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, told investigators she awoke Saturday about 6 a.m. to find her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in Porto de Galinhas, a seaside resort in northeastern Pernambuco state.

Rodrigues told police she had a fight with Gatti after dinner Friday night and he pushed her to the ground, resulting in minor injuries to her elbow and chin. Witnesses also reported to police the couple fought and that Gatti was drunk.

Rodrigues told police the 37-year-old former junior welterweight champion then got into a cab with their son and returned to their rented apartment, leaving her alone downtown.

Teixeira said witnesses told police Gatti left his son to sleep in the apartment, then returned to the city center to find his wife. She arrived at the apartment before he did and waited for him. They then both went upstairs together.

Rodrigues told police she slept on the second floor of the apartment with her son, while Gatti slept on the first floor. She told police she awoke at 6 a.m. to feed her son and discovered her husband’s body. Police say he most likely had been killed at least four hours before that.

Teixeira said police do not think anyone else entered the apartment and killed Gatti—he said there were no signs of forced entry and electronic locks indicated nobody else had entered the room aside from Rodrigues and Gatti.

The investigator said Rodrigues told them she thought her husband had committed suicide or that someone had entered the apartment and killed him. Teixeira ruled out both scenarios.

Rodrigues’ sister, Flavia, told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo there is “no way she could have strangled a man of that size.”

Rodrigues’ attorney, Celio Avelino, told the AP he agreed with Flavia’s conclusion and he would request Amanda be freed from jail Tuesday pending the conclusion of the investigation.

“She is fragile, young and skinny—how could she kill a boxing champion?” Avelino said. “When she awoke, she presumed he had committed suicide. But she had nothing to do with it.”

Flavia Rodrigues said her sister told her she thought Gatti had committed suicide—though she said he knew of no reason the boxer would kill himself or why the pair fought the night before his death.

“Sure, they had fights,” Flavia said. “But he was crazy about her.”

The sister told Recife’s TV Jornal news station that “Amanda told us she didn’t kill Arturo, and we believe her.”

“My sister, like us, is very religious and would be incapable of killing anyone,” Flavia said. “She found him already dead. It’s up to the police to discover what happened in the flat.”

The pair married in 2007 and according to Rodrigues had a rocky relationship. Authorities were told the couple was extremely jealous of each other and that Gatti constantly complained about her clothing when she traveled to Brazil, police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva said.

According to Brazilian law, police accuse a person of a crime but it is up to the prosecutor to formally file a charge. Teixeira said police have until July 22 to deliver their findings to the prosecutor’s office, but he hoped the investigation would be completed before then.

Rodrigues was accused of the crime Sunday and taken into police custody. She has been transferred to a woman’s prison in the state capital Recife. She maintains her innocence.

Gatti, Rodrigues and their 10-month-old son arrived in Brazil on Friday for what they told a local real estate agent was a second honeymoon. The baby, who was unhurt, is now with Rodrigues’ family in Brazil.

Gatti, a Canadian, fought an epic trilogy with Micky Ward that branded him one of the most exciting fighters of his generation. He retired in 2007 with a career record of 40-9 and 31 knockouts.

Known for his straightforward punching and granitelike chin, Gatti captured the super featherweight title in 1995, when he defeated Tracy Harris Patterson in Atlantic City, N.J. He won the junior welterweight title in 2004.

Police accuse wife in death of boxing champ Gatti

By TALES AZZONI, Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO AP)—Brazilian authorities detained the wife of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti and formally accused her Sunday of killing him at a posh seaside tourist resort in Brazil.

Police said 23-year-old Amanda Rodrigues was taken into custody after contradictions in her interrogation and presented a formal accusation against her. Prosecutors will later decide whether she will be charged.

Rodrigues, who denies any involvement in her husband’s death, was the first to find the slain boxer’s body early Saturday inside the vacation apartment they were renting at the Porto de Galinhas resort in northeastern Brazil, police said.

The former junior welterweight champion was apparently strangled with the strap of a purse, which was found at the scene with blood stains, said Milena Saraiva, a spokeswoman for the Pernambuco state civil police. She told The Associated Press that the Canadian also sustained a head injury.

Police said Rodrigues, a Brazilian, could not explain how she spent nearly 10 hours inside the residence without noticing that Gatti was already dead.

Rodrigues told police she had a fight with Gatti after dinner Friday night and he pushed her to the ground during the altercation, causing her to sustain minor injuries to her elbow and chin. She told authorities Gatti was drunk and that a third party likely committed the crime after he went to the apartment by himself.

Witnesses had reported to police that the couple fought and that Gatti was drunk.

Authorities were told the couple was extremely jealous of each other and that Gatti constantly complained about her clothing when she traveled to Brazil, Saraiva said.

Acelino “Popo” Freitas, a four-time world champion Brazilian boxer, told Globo TV’s Web site on Saturday that he was a close friend of Gatti and his wife and that he “knew they were having some sort of problem and were about to separate.”

They had planned to spend one month in Brazil on vacation.

The couple’s 1-year-old son, who was unhurt, was handed to Rodrigues’ sister, Saraiva said.

The 37-year-old Gatti, whose epic trilogy with Micky Ward branded him one of the most exciting fighters of his generation, retired in 2007 with a career record of 40-9 and 31 knockouts.

Known for his straightforward punching and granite-like chin, Gatti captured the super featherweight title in 1995, when he defeated Tracy Harris Patterson in Atlantic City, N.J. He won the junior welterweight title in 2004.

Police detain wife of former boxing champion Gatti

By TALES AZZONI, Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO (AP)—The wife of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti was detained as a suspect by Brazilian authorities Sunday following his death at a posh seaside resort.

Police said 23-year-old Amanda Rodrigues was taken into custody after contradictions in her interrogation. Gatti’s body was found early Saturday in a hotel room at the Porto de Galinhas resort in northeastern Brazil.

The former junior welterweight champion was apparently strangled with the strap of a purse, which was found at the scene with blood stains, said Milena Saraiva, a spokeswoman for the Pernambuco state civil police. She told The Associated Press that the Canadian also had a head injury.

The investigation was not complete, but Saraiva said authorities were preparing to present a formal accusation against Rodrigues, who denied being involved in her husband’s death.

Police said Rodrigues, a Brazilian, could not explain how she spent nearly 10 hours in the room without noticing that Gatti was already dead.

Police were investigating witness reports that the couple fought and Gatti was drunk when he returned to his room Friday night, Saraiva said, adding that police were told the pair were extremely jealous of each other and that he constantly complained of her clothing when she traveled to Brazil.

Acelino “Popo” Freitas, a four-time world champion Brazilian boxer, told Globo TV’s Web site on Saturday that he was a close friend of Gatti and his wife and that he “knew they were having some sort of problem and were about to separate.”

The couple’s 1-year-old son, who was unhurt, was with Rodrigues’ sister, Saraiva said.

The 37-year-old Gatti, whose epic trilogy with Micky Ward branded him one of the most exciting fighters of his generation, retired in 2007 with a career record of 40-9 and 31 knockouts.

Known for his straightforward punching and granite-like chin, Gatti captured the junior welterweight title in 1995, when he defeated Tracy Harris Patterson in Atlantic City.

Former boxing champ Gatti found dead in Brazil

By STAN LEHMAN, Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO (AP)—Former boxing champion Arturo Gatti, one of the most exciting fighters of his generation, was found dead in a hotel room in the posh seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas early Saturday.

Police investigator Edilson Alves told The Associated Press that the body of the former junior welterweight champ was discovered in his hotel room at the tourist resort, where Gatti had arrived on Friday with his Brazilian wife Amanda and 1-year-old son.

Alves said police were investigating and it was unclear how the 37-year-old Canadian died.

“It is still too early to say anything concrete, although it is all very strange,” Alves said.

A spokeswoman for the state public safety department said Gatti’s wife and son were unhurt. The women declined to give a name in keeping with department policy.

“There were no bullet or stab wounds on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor,” she said.

Gatti first captured the junior welterweight title in 1995, when he defeated Tracy Harris Patterson in Atlantic City, N.J. His brawling style and natural charisma made him a fan favorite, and he became one of New Jersey’s adopted sons while fighting some of his most memorable battles on the Boardwalk.

“His entire boxing career he fought with us, we’ve known him since he was 17,” Kathy Duva of promoter Main Events told The Associated Press. “It’s just an unspeakable tragedy. I can’t even find words. It’s a horror.”

Brazilian boxer and four-time world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas told the G1 Web site of Brazil’s largest television network Globo that he was a close friend of Gatti and his wife, and that he “knew they were having some sort of problem and were about to separate, but I didn’t know they were in Brazil.”

Francisco Assis, a local police investigator, told G1 that Gatti could have died up to eight hours before his body was found early Saturday.

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in New York contributed to this report.

Gatti found dead in Brazil

Posted Jul. 11, 2009

By RingTV.com editors

Arturo Gatti, the thrill-a-minute brawler who engaged in an epic three-fight series with Mickey Ward, was found dead in a hotel room in northeastern Brazil, The Associated Press is reporting. He was 37.
Posted Jul. 11, 2009 at 02:35pm

Gatti’s body was discovered Saturday morning in Porto de Galinhas, a beach resort, AP reported. He arrived there on Friday with his wife and 1-year-old son, neither of whom was harmed.

A public safety spokesman for the region said it was unclear how Gatti died.

"There were no bullet or stab wounds on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor," said the spokesperson, who declined to be identified.

Gatti, a native of Montreal who lived in Jersey City, N.J., won two major titles. He never had the natural ability of an elite boxer but no one had a superior fighting spirit. His courage and resilience are legendary.

He retired in 2007.